Amos m



A M-LO G APPARATUS FOR ADMINISTERING ANESTHETIG GASES.

Patented M3124 1.884;?

YUNITED STATES PATIENT O FICE.

AMOS M. LONG, or MONROE, MICHIGAN.

' APPARATUS FOR ADM-INISTERING A EST'H ET'ICY GASES-.-

SPEGIFICATION forming .part' of Letters Patent No. 294,479, dated March 4, 1 8 84.

Application filed June '6, 1883. (Model).

To all whmrt it may concern.-

Be it known that I, AMos lVI. LON-er -of Monroe, county of Monroe, and State of Michigan, have made certain Improvements in A paratus for Administering Nitrous Oxide and other Anaesthetic Gases, of which the following is 'a specification.

The object of my'invention is to make the common nitrous-oXide-gas apparatus, having a water-cistern containing a gas-chambe'r-reslting on the water, with connecting-tubes, chloroform attachment, inhaler, and gas-vessel, more con-- venient, certain, and quick. in operation, and also to economize the narcotizing agents.

It consists of the common large upright cistern, B, nearly filled with water, and which is about twelve inches in diameter by thirty inches in height; the movable floating gasholder A, working vertically within the cistern and'nearly filling it in dimension; thecylinder-stand O,"for the vessel 'of compressed gas the inhaler 11, with connecting-tubes; a small vapor-making apparatus, 9, of three or four inches in height by one i'nch in width, and minor details, shownhe'reinafter. v

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a general view of the exterior of the whole -apparatus. Fig. 2 represents'the gas-holder in vertical section. Fig.3 represents the float at the base of the gas-charge in perspective. Fig. 4. represents the same in vertical section. Fig. 5 represents a segment of the periphery of the upper float in vertical section, with its pack-1 ing. Fig. 6 is a central vertical section of the upper float,- showing the packing around the inlet-tube where it enters the gaechamber. Fig. 7 represents the bottom'part of the "gas holder in perspective. Fig. 8 representsQne of the floats at the base of the gas-holder. Fig. 9 represents the difierents parts segregated of the vaporizing attachment. Fig. 10 represents the adjusting-weights.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in all the views. I

In Fig. 1, A is the gas-chamber, set down into the wet-cistern B. O is the sheet-metal cylinder or case holding the. iron vessel of compressed gas. 9 is the vaporizing apparatus in position and attached to the inhaler= tube. 11 is the inhaler. .a are the depressions in the crown of the gas-holder for the weights. In Fig. 2 the gas-holder and cistern are thin sheet metal.

tive to disturbance of verticity that weights thrown on hastily without guides -list it over and delayithe descent. Heretofore the habit has been to cast on anything at hand, when needed, of anywhere near the suitable weight. A gain of consequence in the use of these graduated weights is that by the increased levity, which may and should be given to the gas-holder,allvariations oflung-power,natural orarising' from timidity'in the subj ect because bfthe novel situation, maybe provided for with exactitude. Another is that instead of loading with adventitious objects,when at rest, to get the necessary extra pressure on the valves to close them with certainty against leakage, these are always at handandwill not bethoughtlessly removed. Added to this is'the facility in loading and unloading the reservoir while eperating', as against the delays in the casual way. All these things tend to relieve the operator of the. usual distractions at the critical time, so precious to, both operator and patient in the control of so arbitrary agents. The space A, between the crown A and the float A is the gas-chan'nber, which has heretofore been metallic in'the' lateral and upper walls only; the floor was water. In mine all the walls are impervious to gas, thus doing away with absorption'by the water and escape out below between the walls of the cistern and receiver, andalso of deterioration of the gasas attached to the face of the gas-holder for Figs. 3 7 v a forms the base of the gas-chamber. per and lower surfaces are convex.

and 4 show the great float A, that Both up;

It iS about two or three inches deep, and at the edge In the niiddle portion it is one inch, and has a rubber packing (shown in Fig. 5) at the edge, and another at the annular space around the inlet-tube A, to complete the separation of the gas from the water. It is made about one inch less in horizontal dimension than the cylinder of the gasholder, to give room at its edge for the obliquely-set packing. The object of this is to make the friction of the packing inappreciable and gain all the advantages of the dry gas-chamber and the wet cistern together, without their disadvantagesaveryimportantadvance. Nosystem has before been devised so'sensitive in working and so practical, most things considcred, as the water-base; but it fails in the economy of gas, which latter I accomplish by the float, Fig. 3, A

I11 Fig. 5, A is asegment of the edge of the air-chamber, Fig. 3, with its packing shown at the left. 1 1 are the seams, in cross-section, that join the metal surfaces, and are made to project, say, oneeighth of an inch horizontally. Over the upper seam, and directed under the lower one, is a band of metal, 2, about one inchin width, for the purpose of projecting the rubber packing obliquely upward and outward toward the vertical walls of the gas-chamber, as shown at 2, and standing farther up than the upper convex surface about one-half inch. On this is laid a thin rubber band, 3, of, say, one-twelfth to one-sixteenth inch thick and about one and one-halfinch in width, just wide enough to lay its curtain lightly against the vertical wall of the gas-chamber, and about one-eighth to one-fourth inch upon it. Around this rubber band, toward its lower edge, is tightly drawn afine thread of wire, 4, (shown in cross-section by the dot,) to confine it rigidly to place, so that the upper edge of the rubber band may not buckle and turn the pressure of the gas behind the upper edge of the rubber curtain, thus diverting the packing from its purpose. Outside of the wire and of the rubber band is another metal band, 5,- resting its base against the lower seam, 1, and extending upward about two-thirds of the'width of the rubber band, leaving the rest of it free to accommodate itself to any inequalities in the receiver-wall. Upon the convex upper surface of A, close to the edge, is a metal band, 6, pro jecting nearly horizontal, and resting against the curtain of 3 and above the band 2, to cure any remaining tendency in 3 to buckle or crinkle, to insure its uniform adhesion to the reservoir-wall, and yet not to interfere with its freedom of adaptation to the wall, and also to insure its facile vertical movement.

In Fig. 6 is shown a central vertical section of the float, Fig. 3, containing the passage through it for the inlet-tube with the packing i and the packing-tube h, the latter not in section. It consists of an aperture, 9, through the float, which is closed laterally, of course. The lumen of this passage should be about two inches. Into it is inserted a tube, 71, of two or three inches in length, with the lower end projecting enough below the float to grasp it for retraction, and extending well up into the aperture 5 so nearly filling it that a thin diaphragm of rubber, i, drawn lightly over the upper end of the tube It and tied down between the walls of hand y, will just pack it moderately close. In the middle of this diaphragm is a small opening, of, say, one-fourth inch, through which the inlet-tube A passes, so that the rubber will hug around the tube and complete the gas-proof condition of the chamber A. The aperture 1 is made purposely larger than the inlet-tube to promote the mobility of the float, Fig. 3, both lateral and vertical, that it may accommodate itself to any oscillation and to the varying stages of water.

I11 Fig. 7 are shown the flotation-chambers of the gas-holder A. A shows the position and proportion of the bases of the four airchambers, Fig. 8, attached to the bottom and within A. A shows the spaces between them for ingress and egress of the water, while Fig. 8 shows entire one of the air-chambers. They should be about nine or ten inches in height,

about seven or eight inches at their greatest width, and about five inches radially. This is a gain over the old way with the one broad float that shuts up the whole lumen of the holder, except the small annular space around the inlet, delaying the flow of gas to the patient, because of the dilatory movement of the water into the holder to take the place of the consumed gas, especially affecting a perverse subject. They are attached to the wall of the cylinder A by their plane or plano-convex side, and so temporarily, by any well-known means, as to be readily removed when necessary to get at the upper interior of it.

In Fig. 9, d is a glass vessel of some two ounces capacity for the chloroform. It has a male screw-thread on the outside of the neck, which fits into-the female thread on the inner base of the metal case D. Above this neckjoint is a valve across the lumen of D, of two half-circles of metal. (Shown at d d One of these is rigid, one is movable and revolves around a pivot in the center by the handle d through a slot, d, in the case D. Below the glass vessel (l is another metal case, 6, containing a lamp, 6, which is extinguished by closing the sliding door 0. This vapor apparatus is clasped to the inlet A, by the clip and the thumb-screw c and is joined to the inlet-tube by the neck zl at the top. The vapor is shut off by the valve ll This is a gain in time and material over the cold method of vaporizing the chloroform by spilling it into the tubes in excess to insure the needed quantity of fumes in time for theoperation.

The weights, Fig. 10, are dishes of metal,with large central openings for the quick grasping of them, and are raised or bowl-formed for that purpose, and also to nest when out of use, and are of such widths as to fit into the corresponding depressions, a, in the crown of the gas-holder, and should be of two, four, and eight ounces weight, and are selected and applied according to the levityof the gas-holder, and to accommodate the lung capacity and other circumstances of each case. They are a gain over the old method of throwing on anything at hand.

The common Way of operating such machines is, first, a few gallons-say five or sixare let into the gas-holder for a charge, and along with it is carried the Vapor from the chloroform spilled intothe gas-tubes,-either by guess in anycrude way, or,not much better, through a turn-cock set in thetubes, depending on ordinary evaporatiofi of the drippings. This is of course slow and uncertain in an operation that needs so much celerity, and certainty also, as this. The gas-holder is hurried down into the cistern by the hand or by any means, and when done the gas-holder is fastened down by a wedge between the holder and the cistern, to-

the damage of the thin sheet-metal gas-holder byindentations, or the holder is loaded with books or tools. I obviate these crude methods by means of the evaporator and the weights. It is obvious that a lamp of a given heating capacity in a given time will be far more certain of proper result than any of the crude spilling methods, quicker, and that the quantity is entirely under the control of the operator.

I am aware of similar apparatus in general principle being made and usedi. 6., with the cistern B, gas-holder A, cylinder-holder 0, and a single broad float at the base of the gasholder, with inlet and outlet tubes with chloroforminlet cups-and I do not claim any of these; but What I do claim, and desire to secure b Letters Patent, is-

.1. In an apparatus for administering antesthetic gases, the combination of gas-holder A, floating partition A, having a central opening for supply or inlet pipe, and packing, shown and described, whereby the gas is separated from the water, substantially as set forth. I

2. In an apparatus for administering anaesthetic gases, the combination of a gas-tight floating partition, A, opening 9, inlet-pipe A gas-holder A, and cistern B, whereby the gas is kept from contact with thelwater, -substan AMOS M. LONG.

Witnesses:

RUFUs W. SHELDON, B. MEREDITH. 

